Chapter 14 The Overbearing Embroidered Uniform Guard

Chen Fan watched this scene unfold.
"Isn't Le Shaoyuan the number one disciple of our Radiant Sun Tower?! What on earth is happening? Why did he suddenly attack right in the central hall of the martial academy..."
He, too, was somewhat bewildered.
Le Shaoyuan narrowed his eyes: "Lord Dean..."
Crack, crack!
Yet, facing Mao Wangchen's oppressive aura, he stamped his foot, causing cracks to spread across the marble floor like a spider's web!
At that moment, amid billowing dust, martial artists flashed out one after another from various rooms and floors of the grand hall!
These individuals were either academy instructors, mentors, or vice deans—all prominent figures within the academy, including many grandmaster experts above the seventh tier.
"Dean, what happened?!"
Mao Wangchen let out a cold snort and raised his hand.
Whoosh!!
From the ruins, a figure together with a blood-red longsword flew out.
They floated automatically before Mao Wangchen...
That figure was severed almost entirely at the waist, exposing internal organs and intestines...
The body was covered in wounds as if it had been carved by a thousand blades!
Clearly, the person was already dead.
His eyes remained wide open in death, as if he could never have imagined he would be killed within the martial academy!
Seeing this person, Chen Fan's expression changed drastically.
This man was a vice dean of the martial academy, whose strength surpassed even that of Ye Wuji—a formidable powerhouse of the ninth martial tier!
"Le Shaoyuan used a single flying sword to instantly kill a ninth-tier martial artist?!" Chen Fan felt immense shock deep in his heart.
No wonder he ranked first in the martial academy; this guy was simply too fierce!
Mao Wangchen gazed coldly at Le Shaoyuan:
"If you cannot give me an explanation, even though you are the number one of the Radiant Sun Tower in our Qingming Martial Academy, and even though you have joined the Brocade Guard Pavilion, I will still execute you!"
Cold sweat involuntarily beaded on Le Shaoyuan's forehead. It was clear he was enduring the terrifying pressure of Dean Mao Wangchen, yet he maintained his calm expression.
"Apologies, Lord Dean. I killed him for a mission... He was working for the Netherworld Gate."
Netherworld Gate?!
As these words were spoken, an uproar arose among the surrounding crowd.
A strange fluctuation flashed through Mao Wangchen's eyes. Then, with a wave of his hand, the golden light enshrouding the entire hall suddenly vanished!
"You had better explain the reason clearly, and furthermore... why didn't you inform me in advance?"

After the golden light dissipated, everyone's expressions relaxed significantly, the immense pressure they faced drastically reduced.
"The evidence is all inside." Le Shaoyuan raised his hand, and a jade slip slowly floated up, flying before Mao Wangchen.
Mao Wangchen frowned as he caught it.
Simultaneously, Le Shaoyuan said:
"I did not inform you to avoid alerting the enemy. Within the martial academy, he never expected anyone to dare make a move against him, which is why he had no time to react!"
No matter how strong Le Shaoyuan's combat power was, he could not claim to kill a ninth-tier martial artist head-on with a single sword strike.
This sword strike had relied on spiritual sense to locate the target, followed by a fatal surprise attack!
The advantage of flying sword techniques lay entirely in the attack range!
Upon hearing this, Mao Wangchen's expression turned ugly, and the corners of his mouth twitched:
"Hmph, excuses. Le Shaoyuan, do not act lawlessly just because you are an envoy of the Brocade Guard Pavilion. If you had informed me beforehand, I could have subdued him for you, and perhaps even captured a living tongue..."
Le Shaoyuan shook his head, remaining serene as he said: "I had no need to keep him alive, nor did I require the Dean's assistance to kill him. This was merely my personal mission."
Hearing this, Mao Wangchen's expression darkened further.
Though Le Shaoyuan appeared peaceful and spoke respectfully, he was actually terrifyingly domineering. He did not care about the academy at all, daring to commit murder in the central hall without prior notification, showing complete disregard for the dignity of both the martial academy and Mao Wangchen!
Yet, despite the resentment in his heart, Mao Wangchen was utterly helpless.
He let out a cold "hmph." "Since it is an order from the Brocade Guard Pavilion, I will spare you this time. If this happens again, do not blame this dean for being ruthless."
With that, he flicked his finger lightly, and the sword in his hand spun at extreme speed toward Le Shaoyuan!
Le Shaoyuan extended his hand, and the rapidly spinning blood-red longsword automatically shrank, transforming into the size of an ordinary sword before slipping smoothly back into the scabbard on his back!
Following that, Le Shaoyuan gave a slight nod, turned around, and calmly departed.
As Le Shaoyuan left, Mao Wangchen let out another cold snort and drifted away as well.
Leaving behind a messy scene and the other high-ranking officials of the academy staring at one another in blank dismay...
Chen Fan watched the scene before him with a twitching mouth, nothing left in his heart save for awe.
To dare kill wantonly in the martial academy without reporting it beforehand—and killing a vice dean at that—was an act of disrespect toward the academy regardless of the reason. Yet Dean Mao Wangchen had let Le Shaoyuan off so casually, something Chen Fan found completely incomprehensible!
"What kind of organization is the Brocade Guard Pavilion to make even the Dean back down?!"
Chen Fan clenched his fists.
The fact that Le Shaoyuan dared to do this, regardless of the reason, meant he simply did not care—or rather, he was certain Mao Wangchen could do nothing to him!
This was the confidence born of strength and status!
The rule of the martial academy forbade fighting within its grounds, and the enforcer of this rule was Mao Wangchen, a tenth-tier expert.
Yet any rule could be broken!
"Power reigns supreme..."

Chen Fan narrowed his eyes and decisively turned to leave!
...
Having witnessed Le Shaoyuan's dominance firsthand, his anticipation for breaking through to the grandmaster realm grew even stronger.
Shortly after, Chen Fan went straight to the Beast Taming Pavilion, applying to ride a flying spirit beast and travel to Yanguo County.
After all, Yanguo County was thousands of miles away; fast as Chen Fan's movement was, it could not compare to a flying spirit beast!
...
The spirit eagle flapped its wings, moving at lightning speed.
In just a few hours, it crossed thousands of miles, arrived at Yanguo County, and landed directly before an entrance to the starry ruins controlled by the martial academy!
Chen Fan was filled with wonder.
The flying spirit beast he rode was nowhere near as large as the Heavenly Spirit Eagle he had taken previously, but its speed was by no means inferior.
"Judging by size and bloodline, this spirit eagle probably only matches a tier-six ferocious beast, yet its speed is truly terrifying!"
Without hesitation, he headed toward the entrance of the underground palace.
At that moment, many martial artists were gathered around the palace entrance.
Places of heritage like this always attracted people trying their luck!
"There are multiple entrances to the ruins of the Starry Gate. Not only can disciples of our martial academy enter, but disciples of several other sects also control certain entrances, and rogue cultivators can enter by paying a certain price..."
Regular academy disciples had to pay a certain amount of merit points to enter, whereas external martial artists had to pay a hefty admission fee!
For the martial academy and the sects controlling other entrances, these ruins had become a treasured land yielding a continuous stream of resources!
"I wonder why Daqian is willing to open such ruins for public access. The treasures within are limited, but human greed is infinite. Over the countless years, countless martial artists have entered hoping to strike it rich, yet ninety-nine percent of them simply end up as crops harvested by Daqian!"
He shook his head.
This was the same principle as buying lottery tickets in his past life: out of the thousands or millions pooling their money into the jackpot, only an extremely tiny minority ever reaped massive rewards!
"Junior brother, which martial academy are you from? Would you like to team up and enter the underground palace together?"
As a martial academy disciple with a waist token hanging from his belt, Chen Fan had just approached the palace entrance when someone stepped forward to initiate conversation.
It was a group of three young men, each wearing a waist token at their waist. The one who spoke was a tall, slender, fair-skinned man.
The waist tokens at their waists were in the style of disciples of the Bright Moon Tower!
Of course, these three were likely not disciples of the Qingming Martial Academy; with so many martial academies across the realm, disciples from various academies in the western region frequently traveled here!
Chen Fan narrowed his eyes: "No need, I prefer to try my luck on my own!"
By this time, he had already used the Heavenly Heart Formless Art to conceal his appearance, so he had no fear of being recognized!